Attosecond science is a new and rapidly developing research area in which molecular dynamics are studied at the timescale of a few attoseconds.
Within the past decade, attosecond pump–probe spectroscopy has emerged as a powerful experimental technique that permits electron dynamics to be followed on their natural timescales. With the development of this technology, physical chemists have been able to observe and control molecular dynamics on attosecond timescales. From these observations it has been suggested that attosecond to few-femtosecond timescale charge migration may induce what has been called “post-Born-Oppenheimer dynamics”, where the nuclei respond to rapidly time-dependent force fields resulting from transient localization of the electrons. These real-time observations have spurred exciting new advances in the theoretical work to both explain and predict these novel dynamics.
This book presents an overview of current theoretical work relevant to attosecond science written by theoreticians who are presently at the forefront of its development. It is a valuable reference work for anyone working in the field of attosecond science as well as those studying the subject.